Travel Writing Tip #6: The twin pillars of travel writing are people and place.
Aside from the topography, the beautiful rice fields, the incredibly fresh food, the staggering art work, one of the things I love most about Bali are the Balinese people themselves.
Every opportunity I had to meet a local person and learn about his or her life was like unwrapping a beautiful gift. I loved learning about their culture, their families, and their way of life. And they were generous and gracious in opening their lives and hearts to us.
As a writer, I loved the opportunity to tell their stories and share some of their joys and challenges. Because one of our guides, Made Surya is Balilnese, and yet lives half the year in the US, we had an inside window into their world.
Here are just some of the amazing people I’ve met in Bali:
This is young Ketut, one of the wonderful guides who led us on an excursion through rice fields, coffee plantations and nutmeg farms on the third leg of our trip. He could tell us all about the history of his people and rice farming methods. Then when his cell phone rang in the middle of a rice field, the ring tone was The Hotel California. That’s exactly the kind of juxtaposition between ancient and modern you run into all the time in Bali.
These are Surya’s niece and nephew. We met them while having lunch at his family’s 400 year old compound. Did you know that the Balinese assume that every child is born an artist? The only question is what kind of art they’re going to do. Can you imagine what it would be like to grow up in a culture like that?
This man was a cowherd I met and spoke to in a gorgeous rice field. Even though we didn’t share a language, we shared a real communication together.
Come to Bali with us, and you, too, can get to know some of the kindest, most generous people on earth.
Join me in Bali next summer!
July 16-31, 2016
In the spirit of adventure,
The Writer’s Journey
P.S. If you’d like to read about one of my prior trips to Bali, you can read my Virtual Vacation posts here.